The real honourees

In spite of its glaring imperfections, this year’s National Honours bestowed on 305 Nigerians on Monday has a few redeeming features. Four of the beneficiaries particularly deserve mention. They are Mr Michael Akinkunmi, the man who designed the National Flag; a taxi driver, Imeh Usuah; Mr Isaac Michael Onuh, a presidential steward, and a traffic warden, Corporal Solomon Dauda.

The four stand out because they represent the usually unsung in a country that has made award of the country’s honours an exclusive preserve of the privileged, and all shades of characters, including murder suspects, political jobbers, awaiting-conviction robbers, etc. While Onuh and Dauda bagged Member of Order of the Niger, Usuah received the award of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR).

Mr. Akinkunmi designed the country’s green-white-green flag in 1959 but successive governments had refused to honour him. It is gratifying that at 77, Mr Akinkunmi is still lucky to have personally received his reward; many others who contributed immensely to the country’s development in diverse ways have died unsung while many others were rewarded post-humously. Pa Akinkunmi’s award of Order of the Federal Republic (OFR), and appointment as a special assistant to the president on lifetime salary are commendable.

The appointment may only be symbolic because at his age, Pa Akinkunmi cannot function efficiently in that capacity (even if he had been in the civil service, he would have retired a long time ago), but it is still something to cheer for a man who must have lost hope that any good could ever come his way from any Nigerian government. At least the question of what he would eat and where to lay his head has been settled with the president’s proclamation. Of course, many other things are to be added unto him in his official capacity.

Also worthy of commendation is Usuah, who displayed uncommon honesty in a country where values have taken flight and honesty is no longer the best policy. Usuah returned N18 million forgotten by a passenger in his vehicle in 2007. Many people in his shoes would have regarded the money as manna from heaven and appropriated it. That a taxi driver would take the kind of pains that Usuah took in locating the owner of the money dismisses any causation or even correlation between status and stealing; it shows that people often steal due to inordinate greed. Usuah has also proved that all is not lost for the country in its search for honest men and women. It is significant too that time was not a factor between Usuah’s deed and his reward; the most important thing is that the reward came after all.

In the case of Onuh, President Jonathan succinctly justified his award thus: “A very dedicated steward who has served every head of state loyally since President Shehu Shagari …” As the president observed, Onuh must be a great man indeed, because the nine presidents he had served included military dictators and their wives. To have remained on his job for more than three decades in the nation’s seat of power sufficiently commends Onuh for his award.

If ever a man loved his work, Corporal Dauda is it. “For many of you in Abuja or who visit our nation’s capital, you must have seen a hard-working traffic warden who does his job with great dexterity, glee and happiness …” President Jonathan spoke glowingly of this traffic warden whose sense of duty differs from that associated with many policemen in Nigeria.

It is gratifying that in addition to the national honours bestowed on them, Usuah, Onuh and Dauda are also to get a one-bedroom flat each in Abuja. The president did well by bringing out these Nigerians for national honours. He has sent the appropriate signal that the honours are not only for the elite but indeed for all categories of Nigerians. It is also a way of encouraging many Nigerians down there to aspire to greater heights in whatever areas of life they find themselves.

However, as human beings have a lot to learn from soldier ants; Nigeria’s ruling elite also have a lot to learn from these worthy Nigerians. If only they can take a cue from these men and lead the country along that path, Nigeria would obviously be a better place for all.